The Iron Fang
by Winterbornbree
Summary: Why did Miko always have to get herself in trouble? Jack and Raf barely had time to ponder the question before all three of them gets thrust in a new situation unlike anything they had seen before. Can they learn to adapt and survive? Or will a broken spirit get the best of them?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey!**

**I'm Winterbornbree, a relatively new writer and fan to the Transformers fandom (I grew up with Transformers Animated, THAT'S how new I am) so correct me if my lore is faulty or something.**

**Also, I was inspired to write this by Inkcrafter's fic, "Primal Max", "Prime: The Beast Saga" by Duskmoon15 and brave kid, and last of all: Beast Wars II.**

**This was just in my head for the longest while now and I entertained thoughts about how this could work. I understand I'm using an overused concept and such, but this'll be unique. I hope.**

**Disclaimer: I'm not the owner of the Transformers franchise. Those rights belong to Hasbro.**

* * *

The chain of events had all started with the mention of a Predacon bone.

"Optimus. I'm picking up a suspicious anomaly on my scanners." Ratchet called out from his post, gaining Miko's attention as well as Optimus'.

"Where did the signal originate from?" The Autobot leader asked.

"In one of the states called Colorado," the medic answered, "it could be one of the Predacon bones." Now Miko's interest really peaked. They were going bone hunting? Any other time, Miko would've just yawned and focused on her guitar, but something - probably uncommon sense - told her to go.

"But Optimus, this anomaly is emitting a strange signature not found on the others we had collected. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't more than a little suspicious about this."

Optimus put his hand on his CMO's shoulder, "We will practice caution, old friend." He turned to the other Autobots, "Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, prepare to roll out!"

Ratchet coaxed the controls for the bridge until it finally materialized in a swirling flash of green.

Miko could hardly contain her excitement. She had longed to see the Autobots - especially Bulkhead - fight. She glanced back at Jack and Raf who were busy on his laptop for who knows what, probably scrubbing recent pictures 'Bee and Smokescreen off the Internet.

Miko moved towards the stairway of the deck trying to act as inconspicuous as possible. Sadly, she hadn't gone a yard before an exasperated "Miko..." caught her. She turned to whoever called her name and the figure of Bulkhead towered over her, "Miko, I hope you aren't thinking of coming with us." He said.

"What, me? Whatever gave you _that _idea?" Miko asked innocently.

The green mech fixed Miko with a suspicious stare and she silently accepted the challenge. She glared at Bulkhead for a moment until he sighed and backed down, "Look, just don't pull one of your old stunts again. I have my optic on you." He warned as he went to join the others and transformed into his alt mode.

"You're no fun anymore, Bulk." Miko mumbled, a little miffed but more determined than ever.

Quickly, she ran down the stairway and headed towards the Groundbridge, miraculously _nobody_ saw the young teen. Except Jack and Raf of course. "Not again." Jack hissed.

"You'd think her 'running-into-the-Groundbridge' days were over." Raf quipped.

"I'll catch her." Jack said and he'd left the younger boy alone.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

Immediately, they entered the bridge and, after a few long moments, exited onto a rough terrain and a small canyon of sorts. They hid behind some rocks to stay out of sight.

Miko was already ducking down behind some boulders as the Autobots stood in front of a cave and talked. "C'mon, Raf. Let's get Miko before the Groundbridge-" The Groundbridge disappeared, "Deactivates." Jack finished dejectedly.

They joined Miko who had an annoyed expression on her face once she saw them. "Lemme guess," she said, "you decided to follow me because you think it's too hazardous for my health."

"Yup." Jack answered.

"Or that I'm too dense to take care of myself."

"Not necessarily." Raf tried to reassure.

"Hmph! I suppose I'll need some sidekicks..." Miko ended thoughtfully.

Jack snorted, "Uh, no. Besides, we're really going to be in trouble once the 'Bots find us, you know."

"Speaking of which, there they go." Miko said as she watched the small team disappear into the cavern. She stood up, swiped at her clothes from a little dust, and took off. Miko was surprisingly fast, so Jack thought.

It took a couple of seconds before the duo caught up to her at the mouth of the cavern. They peered into the darkness before them and heard the faint echo of the Autobots' footsteps inside. "What do we do now?" Raf asked, sounding a little fearful.

"Follow them, of course! You're afraid of the dark?" Miko teased.

"What? No!"

"Then let's go, short-stuff." Miko ran into the cave with Jack and Raf at her heels.

"This is a bad idea and we all know it." Jack fought to keep his initial unease down, he was having a bad feeling about this place...

They eventually came to a fork in the path they were on. The echo of giant footsteps were resounding off the walls. "Now what, oh great and wise Miko?" Jack asked, sarcasm lacing in his voice.

Miko fished a coin out. "We'll go that way," she indicated to a path on the left, "and if we were walking in circles, at least we would know which path is the wrong one." She found a relatively flat rock to put the nickel on.

The odd-looking trio walked on the designated path for what seemed like forever and a half, occasionally tripping over rocks they didn't manage to see, until they heard Cybertronian footsteps.

"Finally! We found them!" Miko said, sounding relieved.

"Uh, Miko?" Raf called.

"That's not our 'Bots." Jack said, sounding as unnerved as ever.

This had to be a nightmare come true, for one thing, they were staring right at the infamous leader of the Decepticons and his medic. "What's Megatron doing here?!" Miko stared at the warlord, bewildered.

"Why, what do we have here? The Autobots human _pets_." The children took a step back.

"We're not pets, you oversized scrapheap!" Miko tried to lunge at the Decepticon leader, but Jack and Raf managed to restrain her.

"Hmph! A little fleshy like you should learn some manners." Knockout sniffed. He bent down and tried to poke them before Miko slapped his finger away.

"On my count of three, we run." Jack whispered to Miko and Raf, "One..."

"Lord Megatron, what if we should use them as hostages again? We did it once." Knockout suggested.

Megatron rolled his optics, "Really Knockout? You think I would be foolish enough to let them escape?"

"Two..." They tensed their legs.

"O-Of course not, Lord Megatron! I just thought maybe-"

"Three!" The kids bolted down the way they came from, giving no attention to anything but the direction ahead of them.

"Capture them!" Megatron's voice nearly caused a tremor.

"You... think we can... outrun them?" Raf puffed, trying his best to keep up with them.

"Not if they... use their... vehicle forms." Jack answered.

They heard roars of a couple of engines behind them, Miko dared to look back. "Nice job, Jack! You jinxed us!"

"And how is this my fault? You were the one who decided to go on the field and get yourself in trouble!" Jack retorted.

"Um, guys? Now's not the best time to argue! Look, we're coming up on the fork!" Raf observed.

By unspoken consent, the three of them knew they'd have to make a tight turn and they would run right into the 'Bots. Great plan, right? Unfortunately, they didn't get that far. They heard T-cogs activate and giant, metal hands descend upon them. The Vehicons came out of nowhere.

"Aw scrap." Jack hopelessly said.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Holy Cow! **_

_**How did I get so many favorites and stuff?! O.O **_

_**Aww, thanks guys! Oodles of love to y'all! :D (Yes, it's a big deal to me. I come from a small, almost dead fandom where it's about average to get 3 or 4 favorites and stuff.)**_

_**Anyway, I'm glad you guys decided to give your time of day to read this. Now here's hoping this chapter is decent...**_

* * *

_"Lord Megatron, the planting of the transmitter was a complete success. The Autobots won't be able to tell between a bone or a bogey." Knockout reported, looking a little too pleased with himself._

_"Excellent Knockout, now it is only a matter of time until Autobots fall for it. I can tell they are getting desperate to exercise their normal caution." Megatron replied._

_"They are losing their touch." Knockout agreed._

_"Are the drones in place?"_

_"They're at your beck and call."_

_"Hmm, excellent..." Megatron stopped short as they heard three pairs of light footsteps nearly round the corner. The silver mech took couple steps forward, ready to handle whatever impending obstacle that was coming his way. Knockout charged his energon prod._

_"Finally! We found them!" A small shout caught his interest and amusement; the humans mistook them for Autobots? They certainly wouldn't make that mistake again._

_"Uh, Miko?" The younger boy said._

_"That's not our 'Bots."_

_"What's Megatron doing here?!" The small femme asked, looking up at Megatron with bewilderment._

_"Why, what do we have here? The Autobots' human **pets**." The Decepticon remarked._

_The warlord couldn't believe it. Here, standing before them, was another chance to knock the Autobots off their pedes in the form of their human friends. The humans tried to make a break for it, as if they could ever escape, Megatron scoffed._

_"Capture them!" Megatron risked revealing his position to his enemies, but a sudden flash of irrational anger made his sight go red. The troopers immediately leaped out of their hidden positions and transformed into their alt-mode; violet and black colored sports cars with lasers to boot._

_"Knockout, alert Shockwave to prepare the med-bay, he'll have chance to study our soon-to-be guests..." Megatron commanded._

_"And what of the Autobots, my liege?"_

_"We'll be staying here, you idiot!"_

* * *

Miko kept lunging at the glass over and over.

Where was she? Currently on the Nemesis, in a Cybertronian glass jar, trying anything to break it. The troopers brought the kids into a lab and proceeded to promptly drop all three of them in separate glass jars, arranged in a triangular pattern. It ignited a strange sense of déjà vu in all three of them.

A sudden fiery pain burned a path up Miko's arm as she screamed and reeled back, clutching her abused shoulder and blinking tears away. "Miko!" A muffled voice caught her attention and she looked up to see Jack's concerned face and Raf's own was radiating worry.

"Are you alright?" Jack mouthed.

"Do I look alright?" Miko muttered under her breath, biting back a less than civil retort about obliviousness.

Jack apparently heard that and was about to respond when a massive shadow fell over the trio. Shockwave towered over them and seemed to hold them down with the cold, calculating gaze of a scientist gone mad. "Interesting. I will find a use for you quickly. It is only _logical_ that a scientist has his rats."

"Did you just call us rats?! When I'll get out of this jar, I'll kick your can to kingdom come, you one-eyed moron!" Miko pointed at the cyclops-like Decepticon with a maniacal expression on her face.

"An illogical assumption. It is highly unlikely you will be a force to be reckoned with given your current situation." Shockwave calmly replied, calling Miko's bluff.

She looked at the boys and shrugged her shoulders, conveying the message: _Okay, I got nothin'. _

Jack took over, "What are you going to do to us?"

Shockwave shifted his glance towards Jack, "That is classified, human."

Jack and Miko exchanged a look of frustration. Talking to Shockwave was as productive as talking to Soundwave... or a brick wall. "The Autobots will rescue us. They're always there when we need them the most. Aren't they?" Raf said quietly.

* * *

Bulkhead felt a cold chill running through his systems. But still, it felt like an annoying sensation at the back of his mind, like he was trying to remember something and couldn't quite grasp it.

He groaned when he finally identified it the problem. Miko ran off again after them. He developed kind of a sixth sense, being Miko's guardian and such. To be honest, Bulkhead would've been surprised if she actually listened to him. He and Miko were going to have a strict talk once they got back to the base.

His teammates heard his groan and turned around with slight concern on their faceplates. "Everything okay back there, Bulk?" Arcee questioned.

Bulkhead sighed. "I want to check the area back there more thoroughly." He jerked his thumb over his back.

_"What fo-" _

"Miko." Bulkhead quickly confessed, cutting off Bumblebee and taking sudden interest on the rough ground under him.

"Bulkhead," Optimus said, "if Miko is truly here, then find her and escort her back to base immediately. Something isn't right."

"Of course." With that, Bulkhead transformed and sped down the way he came, going as fast as safely possible. He went a little way before stopping at the fork, his scanners picking up faint life signatures.

"Hm? What happened here?" Bulkhead transformed again and knelt, examining several sets of tire tracks that wasn't there before. The tracks lead further into the passage ahead of him. Bulkhead narrowed his optics and changed his hand into a blaster.

If he found whatever abducted Miko, they'd be dealing with one _very_ _angry_ Wrecker.

Bulkhead wandered down the passage, keeping his blaster up in front of him warily. "Bulkhead to Optimus, do you read?" Static and interference nearly made him go deaf as he clutched the sides of his helm in agony.

"You came alone, Wrecker. A very unwise move." Megatron materialized out of the shadows. With sliver armor gleaming, Bulkhead had to wonder how he managed to miss Megatron.

Bulkhead primed and aimed his blaster while switching his other hand into a wrecking ball, "Where's Miko?" He growled.

* * *

**Next time on The Iron Fang:**

**"Your fate is in our hands. Don't make this harder than it needs to be."**

**"Oh don't worry, Optimus. Your human friends will be in good hands. It's just the thought whether you will see them again that needs to be addressed."**

**"...We're doomed."**

**"What have you done?!"**

* * *

**A/N:**

**Ack! As much as I like writing longish chapters, I didn't have it in me and I apologize. But I'm sick and my creative juices are slowing down. T.T I'll start making chapters a little longer from here on out.**

**Signed,**

**Winterbornbree**


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